Above & Beyond的个人档案

There are DJs who can rock a party, a club, a festival.And there are acts that can write songs that will bring outthe goose bumps in you. But there’s only one group thatcan do both: Above & Beyond. Currently fifth in the DJMagazine annual poll – the highest-placed Brits – in thelast year alone, they have sound-tracked the unveiling ofa new spaceship, performed an acoustic show in a hot airballoon, and entranced a crowd of 8,000 in Beirut with theirfirst full live show. For the world’s most famous trance trio,there are no limits. “There’s so much going on,” says TonyMcGuinness. “We’re trying to do so many things.”From remixing Madonna (2001), to winning Essential Mixof the Year (2004) or playing to one million people on thebeach in Rio de Janeiro (New Year’s Eve 2007), Above &Beyond’s career has been a constant upward curve sincethe trio formed in 2000. Because Above & Beyond makemusic, pure and simple. That music happens to be electronic.And it connects. “We’re a group,” says Tony. “Andwe’re trying to connect with people. When you see peoplesinging along as passionately as they do, I guess you’regetting it right.” The key difference is this: Above & Beyondare DJs, producers – and musicians. “We like to think ofourselves as songwriters first,” says Paavo Siljamaki, whowith Jono Grant makes up the trio. “The most challengingthing is to write a song that really touches the listener.”Creatively and geographically, Above & Beyond don’t believein borders. Hence 2009’s full live band show in Beirut,Lebanon. “What an undertaking,” says Tony. “We decidedto do a really big, high production live show. It was anenormous undertaking and a risk.” It was the first time theyhad translated the Above & Beyond sound to a live line-up– drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, singers Zoe Johnstonand Richard Bedford. “People were blown away and wefelt blown away by it ourselves,” says Tony. And Beirut leftits mark. “They rebuilt the town centre, it’s beautiful,” saysTony. “But we did a photo shoot in an old Chevrolet showroomand it had bullet holes, and the driver had fought onthat very roof, and was picking up shell cases and explainingwhat happened.”At the other end of the scale, the group played anacoustic show for two fans and BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tongin a hot air balloon as it sailed serenely over the Englishcountryside. At one point, the driver flew the balloon at littlemore than a metre over a field of wheat. “It’s like a dreamsequence in a movie, because you’re not flying fast or upand down, you’re looking at something you would neversee in nature,” says Tony.And when Richard Branson needed a theme tune for theunveiling of his new Virgin Galactic spaceship in the MojaveDesert with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,he turned to Above & Beyond. Jono DJed at the event.And ‘Buzz’, the track Above & Beyond provided, delightedthe ‘ship’s designers with its sleek, rocket-fuelled, trancedynamics and crackly radio dialogue by astronaut BuzzAldrin. “They thought it was perfect, thought it had the rightresonance,” says Jono.From small, East European club shows to major festivallike America’s Coachella, Above & Beyond have a uniqueability to captivate and engage audiences. Their music hasgrandeur and melody, but it’s edged with steel too. Thereare dark shadows among the sweet moments. Trance istoo small a word for their cinematic, ambitious sound, it’sbigger than genres.THE trio are experienced musicians who know their wayaround a studio. Tony McGuinness was marketing directorfor Warner Brothers Records – but for years previouslywas the guitarist/songwriter of cult indie band Sad Lovers& Giants. Asked to organize a remix of Chakra’s ‘Home’ in2000, he joined together with Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamaki- and Above & Beyond was born. “By coincidencewe ended up tthree individuals with complimentary anddifferent talents into the mix,” says Tony.Jono Grant first discovered dance music when he borrowedhis brother James’s cassette of Paul Oakenfold’sclassic Goa mix – and fell in love with its sweeping melodrama.Already training as a classical pianist and guitarist,he was inspired him to build his own studio, taking onpart time jobs to fund his equipment. “I managed to saveup enough money from mowing the lawn to buy a drummachine,” he laughs. When he arrived at London’s Universityof Westminster, he had a small, yet compact studio.His first production was a remix of Strike’s Top Five hit ‘USure Do’.Paavo had arrived at the same university from his nativeFinland. Also classically trained on cello and piano, he wasstudying music business. The two met one beery night andJono proceeded tto play his latest productions. “Let’s writea track together,” Paavo told Jono. They pooled their studio